Sheet feeding apparatus



June 23, 1953 H. T. BACKHOUSE SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9, 1949 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 MNN MQ ECE Pm I N. NW: N\\ N 4 W \N w. (2K

H. T. BACKHOUSE' SHEET. FEEDING APPARATUS June 23, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 9, 1949 ,June 23, 1953 SHEET FEEDING APPARATUS Filed Nov. 9, 1949 H. T. BACKHOUSE z'sneeis-sneet s Patented June 23, 1953 2,643,121 snE 'r FEEDI'NG APPARATUS Headley Townsend Backhouse, Sunningdale,

England Application November 9, 1949, Serial No. 126,26? In Great Britain February 21, 1949 4 Claims. 1

Ihe invention relates to. sheet feeding apparatus of the kind (later referred to as the kind described) in which a succession of sheets (e. g. from a mechanism separating the sheets from a pile) are fed by conveyor tapes to a layboard on which each sheet in turn is registered in position by engagement of its front edge and a side edge with front and side registering lays or stops, the sheets being held in frictional engagement with the conveyor tapes by presser wheels or rollers or the equivalent (herein referred to as running-in wheels) which are rotated by the moving sheets.

in apparatus of the kind described the sheets may reach the layboard independently or as a stream of partly underlapping sheets (i. e., with the front edge portion of each sheet underlying the rear edge portion of the preceding sheet) and the sheets, after registration, are removed from the layboard, for example, to a printin machine.

It is an object of the present invention to provide in apparatus of the kind described, improved means for controlling each. sheet as it approaches the front lays or while it is at the front lays.

The invention consists in sheet feeding apparatus of the kind-described characterised by suction means for gripping the rear edge portion of each sheet and for advancing the sheet as the sheet approaches the front lays.

For various practical reasons the conveyor tapes, in apparatus of the kind described, usually stop short of the front lays and the running-in wheels are spaced from the lays by at least the length of the individual sheets being fed. One reason for this arrangement is that the sheet at the front lay must be free from positive driving engagement with the tapes to enable front and side registration to be effected. The running-in wheels are frequently adjustable towards and away from the front lays to enable the apparatus to be used with sheets of different lengths. The present invention is especially suitable for application to apparatus arranged in this way in that it enables the final forwarding of the sheets to the front lays to be effected in a yieldable but easily controlled manner facilitating both front and side registering of the sheets.

The suction meanspreferably comprise one or more suction rollers and it is a feature of a particularly convenient form of the invention that the roller or rollers are driven from the runningin wheels or from one such wheel.

The suction means may operate to advance the sheet at a lower speed than the conveyor tapes operate and thereby to decelerate the sheet as it approaches the front lays or it may operate at a higher speed than the tapes to accelerate the movement of the sheets. Further the suction means may be arranged to operate nearer to the front lays than the end of the conveyor tapes and thereby render the apparatus capable of operation on sheets which are shorter than the distance between the end of the tapes and the front lays and which might not otherwise be fed up to the lays.

A specific construction of a sheet feeding apparatus according to the invention and a modified form of the apparatus will now be described by Way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure l is a side view of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus, and

Figure 3 is a view, corresponding to Figure 1, of a modified form of the apparatus.

The apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises a tape conveyor i of the kind in which a multiplicity of endless tapes 2 are carried over a pair of spaced parallel rollers of which one is shown at 3 and which has a feed board ll extending between the rollers .to support the upper lap of the tapes and the sheets 6 thereon. The sheets are fed onto the conveyor at one end thereof by a sheet separating machine in a continuous stream of partly underlapping sheets, and at the discharge end of the conveyor the sheets are fed onto a layboard 8 at a level slightly below that of the feed board 4. Mounted above each conveyor tape 2 of the conveyor there is a running-in wheel Iii which is carried on an arm I2 and is spring pressed downwardly (by spring It) to press the sheets against the underlying tapes 2, thereby causing the running-in wheel it to be rotated by the movement of the sheets derived from the tapes. Each running-in wheel ii) is adjustable in position lengthwise of the tapes 2 along a bar Hi. The front end I8 of the arm l2 carrying the running-in wheel it extends downwardly and serves as a sheet smoother.

Pivoted to each arm 12 there is an extension 26 projecting in the forward direction which carries a suction roller 22. An adjustable stop it limits the pivotal movement of the arm i2 so as to hold the suction roller 22 just free from frictional gripping engagement of the sheet 6 on the lay-' board 8 or the feed board 4 depending on the position of adjustment of the running-in wheel [0. The suction roller 22 is of the kind having a fixed core 26 and a rotatable shell 28 provided with axial slots 30 in its circumference which move into registration with a suction orifice 32 on the bottom of the core 26 as the shell 28 rotates. The shell 28 is in driving engagement, by a suitable belt 34, with the running-in wheel l and is arranged for rotation by the wheel running-in wheel about an axis parallel with that of the running-in wheel, and in the present example, at the same peripheral speed as the running-in wheel.

In the operation of the apparatus the sheets are conveyed along the feedboard 4 in a continuous stream. The running-in Wheels 10 are so adjusted above the feed board 4 that the rear of each sheet 8 passes out of the control of the wheels 10 just before the front edge'of the sheet 6 reaches the front lays 36. The rear portion of the sheet 6 is then still engaged by the suction 22 is sufficient to feed the sheet 6 lightly up to the front lays 35. The suction may be cut-off (e. g., by a valve) when the sheet 6 reaches the front lays 36 to enable the side registration of the sheet 6 to be effected or the grip may be light enough to enable slip to take place during side registration. Automatic release or partial release of the suction may be obtained by positioning the suction rollers 22 so that when the sheet is at the front lays 35 the rear edge, as shown, exposes the whole or part of the suction orifice 32. y

In the modified form of the invention shown in Figure 3, the running-in roller IDA is so located that it presses the advancing sheet into frictional engagement with the feeding tapes where they pass over and are supported by the supporting roller at the end of the conveyor means; and the suction roller 22A, which is smaller in diameter than the running-in wheel IDA, is driven by a gear train 40, 42 and 44 from the running-in wheel 10A. Thus the peripheral speed of the suction roller 22A is lower than that of the running-in wheel IUA, with the result that the suction roller 22A advances the sheet at a lower speed than does the conveyor tapes, thereby decelerating the sheet as it approaches the front lays. The suction supply to the suction roller 22A is adjustable by means of a needle valve 46.

I claim:

1. Sheet feeding apparatus comprising a layboard, front registering lays, conveyor means for feeding a succession of sheets along the layboard, said conveyor means comprising a feedboard supporting endless conveyor tapes with supporting rollers therefor, at least one freely rotatable running-in wheel located above said tapes and pressing the sheets into frictional contact with said tapes, said running-in wheel being rotated merely by frictional engagement with the sheets conveyed by the tapes, at least one suction wheel positioned between said running-- in wheel and the front lays to make suctional engagement with a sheet of which the rear edge has left the running-in wheel, and driving means interconnecting said running-in wheel and said suction wheel for driving the latter from said running-in wheel.

2. Sheet feeding apparatus comprising a layboard, front registering lays, conveyor means for feeding a succession of sheets along the layboard, said conveyor means comprising a feed-board supporting endless conveyor tapes with supporting rollers therefor, at least one freely rotatable running-in wheel located above a tape where it passes over and is supported by a supporting roller at the forward end of the feed-board, said running-in wheel being rotated merely by frictional engagement with the sheets conveyed by the tapes, at least one suction wheel positioned between the driving-in wheel and the front lays to make suctional engagement with a sheet of which the rear edge has left the running-in wheel, and driving means interconnecting said running-in wheel and said suction wheel for driving the latter from said running-in wheel.

3. Sheet feeding apparatus comprising a layboard, front registering lays, conveyor means for feeding a succession of sheets along the layboard, said conveyor means comprising a feed-board supporting endless conveyor tapes with supporting rollers therefor, at least one freely rotatable running-in wheel located above said tapes and pressing the sheets into frictional contact with said tapes, said running-in wheel being rotated merely by frictional engagement with the sheets running-in wheel and shortly before the front Number edge of the sheet reaches the front lays, and driving means interconnecting said running-in wheel and said suction wheel for driving the latter from said running-in wheel.

4. Sheet feeding apparatus comprising a layboard, front registering lays, conveyor means for feeding a succession of sheets along the layboard, said conveyor means comprising a feed-board supporting endless conveyor tapes with supporting rollers therefor, at least one freely rotatable running-in wheel located above said tapes and pressing the sheets into frictional contact with said tapes, said running-in wheel being rotated merely by frictional engagement with the sheets conveyed by the tapes, at least one suction wheel positioned between said driving wheel and the front lays to make suctional engagement with a sheet of which the rear edge has left said running-in wheel, and driving means interconnecting said running-in wheel and said suction wheel and driving the latter at a peripheral speed which is lower than that of the running-in wheel, thereby advancing the sheet at a lower speed than that at which the conveyor tapes operate and decelerating the sheet as it approaches the front lays.

HEADLEY TOWNSEND BACKHOUSE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date 1,480,132 White et a1. Jan. 8, 1924 1,691,606 Hitchcock Nov. 13, 1928 2,082,239 Belluche et a1 June 1, 1937 2,248,079 Harrold et a1. July 8, 1941 2,285,076 Backhouse June 2, 1942 2,309,979 Pritchard Feb. 2, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 37,546 Norway July 30, 1923 

